City gives me R851 000 windfall

ON FEBRUARY 15 this year I received an e-mail about what appeared to be my municipal rates bill from the City of Joburg.

Imagine my surprise and then absolute delight to discover that it was in fact a notice from the City of Joburg informing me that my property had been revalued from R2 060 000 to R2 911 000.

That is an increase of R851 000, or 41.3% in value.

More than seven times the official rate of inflation.

Overnight, I had become rich.

What’s more, I didn’t have to make any improvements to my dilapidated bathrooms, straighten the dodgy stone boundary wall, repair the erratic electric gates, repave the crumbling driveway, fix the leaking roof and broken tiles, plaster the exterior walls, fix the pool pump, replumb the laundry, replace the faulty geyser, remove the two bee nests or obtain an electricity clearance certificate.

Not only was this windfall unexpected, but the city council effected this without the inconvenience of sending a qualified valuator to my home to inspect the property.

So, hats of to DA mayor of Joburg, Mr Herman Mashaba.

Finally we have a politician who performs the miracle of creating unexpected overnight wealth for the embattled Joburg ratepayers. Parkmore Ext, Sandton